Boston Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez catches a fly ball over his son, Manny Jr., during batting practice before Game 2 of the baseball World Series between the Red Sox and Colorado Rockies Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007, at Fenway Park in Boston.

BOSTON - OCTOBER 25: David Ortiz #34 of the Boston Red Sox warms up before the Red Sox take on the Colorado Rockies in Game Two of the 2007 Major League Baseball World Series at Fenway Park on October 25, 2007 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca, marveling at the bash and dash in the Red Sox’s lineup: “Big, hairy-chested guys, one right after another, that work the count, that pounce on your mistakes. Power and quality hitting from the left-hand side and the right-hand side. More speed in the lineup. … They create a lot of pressure on you.” …

Share the wealth. The team with the most money may well win this Series, but, for the record, it doesn’t always happen. To wit: This year will mark the eighth consecutive season in which a different team will be crowned World Series champion. …

Gere-ing up. An officer, a gentleman and, it turns out, a ball fan: Richard Gere, spotted before Game 2 mingling with players and front-office types in the Sox dugout. …

Dried up. Former Rockies pitcher Kevin Ritz hung out with his kids near the Rox dugout. Ritz, co-owner of the franchise record with 17 dubyas in a season, wants to know the drill with the humidor. “Come on,” he said. “What, do they store cigars in that thing or what? I could have won a couple more games if they had that thing.” …

Walk in the park. Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe, on Ryan Speier’s back-to-back-to-back walks with the bases loaded: “Eddie Cicotte of the 1919 White Sox didn’t do that badly and he was trying to lose.” …

Ticket to nowhere. Got to thinking after Game 1 that Rox fans could use a little silver lining. Let’s see now. … Oh, I know. If you cursed at your computer for 12 hours and couldn’t get a ticket to Game 5, there may not be a Game 5. …

Spit fire. Deep-thought question of the day, courtesy of a female e-mailer: “I only have one baseball question: Is there something in the makeup of baseball players that causes them to constantly spit?” Beats the heck fire outta me, lady. …

Monfort fan. Red Sox owner John Henry, on the Brothers Monfort weathering the storm and landing in the World Series: “I’m happy for them. They’ve struggled. They’ve got great fans out there. Hopefully, this will reignite that region. They have one of the best ballparks in baseball. When I owned the Marlins, I went there every chance I got.” …

Happy Henry. By the way, for both Marlins fans in the crowd, Henry says your team needs a retractable-roof stadium or else. …

Henry, on George Steinbrenner’s son Hank’s assertion that it’s a Red Sox Nation, but a Yankee Universe: “As far as I’m concerned, they can have Mars and Pluto.” …

Jimmy Epstein? No, Sox GM Theo Epstein isn’t quitting his day job anytime soon, but he’s an accomplished guitarist who has been known to jam at local charity functions. His all-time czar of the guitar? “Jimi Hendrix. Him or Jimmy Page. It’s a tie between the Jimmys.” …

Smokin’ Sawx. Matt Herges, on the Sawx: “They’re an offensive juggernaut. In a lot of people’s minds, they’re the best team in the big leagues. You have to execute pitches, period, on them. And a lot of times, even when you do, they still smoke it.” …

Hairy scary. The Rockies got hammered by 12 runs in Game 1, but it’s not like they don’t have some advantages in the Series. Or maybe you missed Jamey Carroll introducing the lineup on the Fox telecast. Hitting fourth, said Carroll, “Todd ‘My Goatee Is Better Than Youkilis” Helton.” …

That would be Kevin Youkilis, whose admiration society grows by the day. “Terrific hitter,” Apodaca said. “He’s going to battle you. He turns into an all-field dangerous-type hitter when he gets two strikes. You have to be just as dangerous and not be predictable as far as what side of the plate you’re going to work.” …

Just a bit inside. And you have to pitch inside. If Game 1 showed the Rockies anything, it’s that their pitchers have to get the Sox hitters off the plate. Next thing you know, Youkilis is diving to avoid a neck-high heater, J.D. Drew gets plugged on the leg, and Julio Lugo ducks to avoid a breaking ball. Trust me, more to come on that front. …

E-writers. So it’s all but official, then. Troy Tulowitzki isn’t going to win the rookie of the year award. Trust me, if Tulo wasn’t voted the top rookie by his peers in the Players Choice Awards, he isn’t about to get the love from a bunch of writers. Heck of a hitter, Braun, but can you imagine a middle infielder voting for a kid who made 23 errors in 113 games over Tulo, the captain of the Rockies’ defense? …

Don’t come knockin’. Todd Helton, when asked, given those trade talks through the years, why it was so important to him to stay with the Rockies: “There haven’t been that many opportunities to leave. It’s not like every other night somebody was calling trying to get me.” …

Hot Sox. The Rockies going into the Series were riding a 21-1 streak, including seven straight wins in the playoffs. Question is, were they the hotter team at Fenway? The Red Sox hit .318 in the ALCS and scored 30 runs in the final three games. The Rox came in hitting .242 in the playoffs. …

No sweat. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the Sox were a confident-looking bunch. “They have every reason to be confident,” Apodaca said. “They’ve been on the big stage and they’re used to this type of pressure. I’m not saying you have to be a veteran in order to perform well, but they handle it very, very well.” …

Roaring back. Hideki Okajima became the first Japanese-born pitcher to appear in a Series game when he bailed out Schilling in the sixth inning. For a guy who was shut down in the pennant stretch with a tired arm, Okajima sure is dealing. Dude hasn’t allowed a run in the postseason. …

Holding back. Talk about a scary pre-Halloween thought. Here’s Apodaca’s McScouting report on Josh Beckett, who blew away the Rockies in Game 1: “It might not even have been his best stuff. I’ve seen him have more electric stuff than that.” …

Long road. Today is Oct. 26. Thursday’s loss in Game 2 gave the Rockies their first road losing streak since Aug. 27-28. …

Don’t go back. Ye olde bottom line: The Rox have picked a bad time to start hitting like a National League West team. They’ve had 10 extra-base hits in their past six games. The Red Sox had nine in the Series opener.

Big Pack fan Ortiz in town

The Packers’ most famous season-ticket holder will be in Our Town for Monday night’s game.

The one at Coors Field, that is.

David Ortiz lives in Green Bay, Wis., in the offseason and is a regular at Lambeau Field.

Red Sox vs. green

There are mismatches and there are classic mismatches. And then there’s Curt Schilling, your basic Hall of Fame candidate, facing Ubaldo Jimenez, he of the 5.85 ERA … in Triple-A.

Helton had a Plan B

So you’re a bandwagoneer or a born-again Rockies fan. Don’t sweat it, bubba. It’s not like the players saw this coming. Todd Helton, for one, admits he had plans to go duck hunting in October. “I always had a confident feeling that we were going to make it, even though I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t have my doubts throughout the past 10 years. A lot of guys in the front office took a lot of criticism in the past years, and they deserve a lot of credit now.”

Rockies all-star shortstop crushed his 100th career homer against the Orioles Friday night at Coors Field. The blast was a mammoth shot that had some history behind it as Story is now the fasted shortstop on MLB history to 100 home runs.